Chapter 10: Absorb Everything!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: mjn0898
The military doctor could not be faulted for losing his composure. Even the very rare [SS] rank babies could only absorb up to seven tubes of premium-grade agent. This time around, the military had brought over ten tubes merely as a show of respect toward Major General Ling Xiao's inheritor. The military had believed that no matter how outstanding Major General Ling Xiao's inheritor was, six tubes would have been more than enough, but Ling Lan just had to be an oddball who showed no signs of absorption satiation even at the eighth tube.
The eighth tube of agent was injected into Ling Lan, and the process was as smooth as ever. When a body started to become satiated, it could be felt in the injection process. If the process was unhindered, that meant that the body could still continue to absorb more agent; but if the process seemed impeded, this indicated that the body was nearing satiation. If the agent could no longer be injected, then it meant that the body was already satiated and could no longer absorb any additional agent.
Watching as Ling Lan successfully absorbed the eighth tube of agent, the military doctor's calm expression finally changed. With his back towards Lan Luofeng and Ling Qin, he threw a meaningful glance at his assistant beside him, signalling him to go contact their superiors.
The military doctor felt that he had done it subtly enough, but his actions had unfortunately still been captured by Ling Lan. Of course, the military doctor didn't think to worry about Ling Lan, for how much could a six-month old babe understand? What he didn't know was that an oddball such as Ling Lan existed in the world, an oddball who could think like an adult from birth.
Seeing the military doctor's actions, Ling Lan knew that something wasn't right. Afraid that her absorption rate may be a little overboard, Ling Lan hurriedly asked Little Four, "Little Four, something doesn't seem right. It looks like we may be absorbing too much agent ... why don't we stop here?"
Having had a taste of the agent, Little Four was unwilling to just stop. He reassured Ling Lan, "Don't worry! Didn't they bring over ten tubes? Since they brought so many, they must have expected that you would be able to absorb that much..." Little Four felt that his logic was impeccable.
Ling Lan was still doubtful. "Are you sure? What if they just wanted to be prepared? Maybe only demonic babies can absorb that much. We have just started out, it wouldn't hurt to keep a lower profile." Ling Lan assumed correctly, but what she didn't know was that unfortunately, even if they stopped now, it was already too late.
Little Four was still unwilling to just give up. This agent was good stuff! It would help get rid of the hidden danger threatening his host. So after some thought, he decided to focus on the present and think about the other things later, and said, "I will arrange some cover-up during the tenth tube and make it look like your body is getting satiated, so even if your absorption rate is a little out of the ordinary, it still shouldn't arouse any suspicion. At the most, you'll only get a little more attention as you grow up, and we can pull back the rate gradually in future so that the impact of this first time is lessened."
Before Ling Lan could argue, Little Four continued, "You should know, absorbing these ten tubes of agent will not only greatly multiply the efficiency of your training, but will also eliminate your hidden trouble once and for all, so you will never have to worry about your spiritual power overwhelming your physical body ever again."
"Huh? Didn't you say that my Qi exercises would resolve the issue in two years anyway? What are you hiding from me?" Ling Lan finally sensed that Little Four was not telling her the full story.
Little Four froze, realizing that it had slipped up, and finally admitted, "What I meant was that if your spiritual power does not increase, your problems would be solved in two years. But you must understand, even if you don't train it, your spiritual power will still increase as you grow older."
Ling Lan was exasperated. "How could you not tell me this? Don't you know how dangerous this is?"
Little Four looked up towards the heavens and mused with an innocent look on its face, "I didn't tell you? It must have slipped my mind ..."
Ling Lan sorely wished that she could grab the little rascal and give him a good spanking. Sadly, she had already promised never to use domestic violence, so she could only put away her twitching palms. Suspiciously, she wondered — had the little rascal foreseen this day, and so had made her promise from the start to avoid violence?
She took several deep breaths to calm herself down before asking, "Tell me honestly, in these six months, how much has my spiritual power grown?" Even if she were to die, Ling Lan wanted to know how she died, so she wouldn't end up as a befuddled ghost.
"Actually, it's only grown this much..." Little Four indicated with his short and stubby fingers how truly little Ling Lan's spiritual power had grown.
"Since it's only that much, does that mean there is no danger?" Ling Lan asked with a sneer, now holding very little faith in the deceitful little rascal.
Little Four wilted and said uneasily, "If it weren't for the agents this time, you would have fallen greatly ill in two years' time. However, as long as you continued your Qi exercises, I estimated that you would have completely recovered after three more years of practice. But now that we have this agent, all the hidden problems are solved, so there will no longer be any trouble." Having said that, he grinned cheekily, satisfaction plainly written on its face. It did not seem to be concerned about how badly things could have gone if they hadn't received the agent.
Seeing this, Ling Lan gave up in resignation. If she tried to argue seriously with the little rascal she would just drive herself mad. Still, she gave a stern warning to Little Four — no matter what happened from now on, he must tell her everything. She wanted no more of these half-truths.
Little Four was quick to agree, but whether he would really live up to his word Ling Lan couldn't tell.
Honestly, Ling Lan felt that something was off with Little Four — even though he claimed to be her contracted long-term companion, she did not have the authority to access the learning space's study programmes on her own. That is, if Little Four did not allow it, she would not be able to open the mental doors that represented those courses in her mindscape.
If Ling Lan were someone else, she might have fretted over this, or may even suspect the learning device of having ulterior motives. However, Ling Lan was very tolerant. If she couldn't open it, then she couldn't open it. There was no need to push. It was nice enough to have someone to shoot the breeze with when she was bored.
At heart, Ling Lan did not have any ambitions to lord over other people. All she wanted to do was live — safely, freely, and painlessly.
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In short order, the assistant had returned from giving his report. He nodded lightly at the military doctor, indicating that he should continue with the injections.
Having received approval from the superiors, the military doctor continued injecting without worry. He had honestly been taken aback by Ling Lan's insane absorption rate, but had also been troubled over how he could account for the excess injections used to his superiors.
Finally, at the tenth tube, the military doctor finally felt more and more resistance as he continued to push the plunger. In the end, he could no longer inject any more agent when there were only a few drops left in the barrel.
Only then did the military doctor pull out the needle, secretly dabbing away the sweat on his forehead. Luckily this child had been satisfied with this tenth shot, letting them complete their mission successfully. A child who could absorb ten tubes of agent was not unheard of, but it was definitely very uncommon.
The military people did not linger, leaving after a brisk farewell, leaving behind a bewildered Lan Luofeng and a slightly knowing Ling Qin.
********
Ling Lan's gaze tracked the soldiers as they left, and she finally relaxed. And then, she registered a heavy weight in her bladder ... she was dismayed. She hadn't even had much milk to drink since her mum knew that she would be given agent to absorb, so why did she have the uncontrollable urge to pee?
As if sensing Ling Lan's distress, Little Four said sheepishly, "I was afraid the military people would notice, so I didn't dare to expel the impurities through your sweat glands, but instead directed them to your bladder ..."
In other words, with all the impurities gathered there, it would be even more surprising if she didn't need to pee.
Ling Lan didn't even have the chance to yell for her mother before she tragically wet the bed once again …
"Little Four, you're dead meat!" wailed Ling Lan.
God dammit! It had taken so long for her to regain some sense of dignity, and appeal to others as a lovable and angelic baby. But those joyous days had barely begun before they were ruined by this inconsiderate Little Four.
Ling Lan was saddened once again. Especially when she heard her mum smack her bum lightly, teasing her for wetting the bed again, she felt the world around her grow dim in despair.